Just got home. Granted, it's only two spring games, you can't tell much, but thought I'd share some random impressions:

1. Retherford truly stood out. I see the Tribune had a story on him today. The ball jumps off his bat, and his approach at the plate was impressive. He reminds me of Dan Uggla. I knew nothing about him going in, and maybe he just had two lucky games, but he seemed to have legit MLB potential.

2. Sloppy defense, poor errors by Teahan, Nix and Lillbridge (although Lillibridge did make one spectacular play at short).

3. I thought Kenny Williams' son was going to play football, but he played on Friday - clearly an impressive athlete, very fast.

4. Torres was the only pitcher I recognized in both games. This was fairly disappointing considering the high profile Vegas games, especially when I heard Peavy pitched in Arizona. I know the Sox aren't out to please the fans who make a special trip, but factoring that in would have been nice. Really makes me think twice about wanting to support the team during the spring if they don't send their highest profile player to the highest profile game. I know that's not what spring training is supposed to be about, but in this case I think it's a legit argument for fans who paid near regular-season prices for seats. Maybe they want Ozzie and Coop to see the unknown arms. I don't think Pinella was there, and the Cubs were throwing MLB starters.

5. I'm on record as saying I think Teahan and Rios will drive me nuts all year. I'm just not excited about either being in the lineup, and Teahan proceeded to strand like 5 runners in scoring position with less than two outs over the course of the two games. He did have an RBI bloop single. Rios was in Arizona.

I won't bore you with more, I need to take some aspirin and go to sleep anyway!

ilsox7

03-15-2010, 05:23 PM

KW has more than one son.

pudge

03-15-2010, 05:25 PM

Ah - which one is the football player? I thought it was Kenny Williams Jr, but apparently not.

tick53

03-15-2010, 06:03 PM

The Vegas games were OK. I tire of spring training games quickly though. Retherford looks like he can make sone contact and I see promise in some of the other youngsters.

LoveYourSuit

03-15-2010, 07:02 PM

Yeah, I was thinking about booking a trip last month to head down there for these games but this team has no roster spots open and making these games extremely boring with no competition.

I agree on Teahan. He looks bad at the dish. I hope he can turn it around because we don't have anyone in the farm knocking on the door for his job. Viciedo has been an extreme dissapointment and headed to become a 1B now.

TDog

03-15-2010, 07:47 PM

... This was fairly disappointing considering the high profile Vegas games, especially when I heard Peavy pitched in Arizona. I know the Sox aren't out to please the fans who make a special trip, but factoring that in would have been nice. Really makes me think twice about wanting to support the team during the spring if they don't send their highest profile player to the highest profile game. ...

What makes you think the Las Vegas games are the special? They are coming near the beginning of Cactus League season when exhibition games are filled with players who won't sniff the majors this year. Fans probably made more out of the games than they should have.

Veteran players often don't make the long trips during the exhibition season. I don't know who played in the Las Vegas games or how any of them did -- I didn't even know the Sox went to the trouble to go to Las Vegas for the weekend, but I've been to a lot of spring games where half of at least one team wasn't even in the city.

SephClone89

03-15-2010, 08:57 PM

2. Sloppy defense, poor errors by Teahan, Nix and Lillbridge (although Lillibridge did make one spectacular play at short).

5. I'm on record as saying I think Teahan and Rios will drive me nuts all year. I'm just not excited about either being in the lineup, and Teahan proceeded to strand like 5 runners in scoring position with less than two outs over the course of the two games. He did have an RBI bloop single. Rios was in Arizona.

I agree on Teahan. He looks bad at the dish. I hope he can turn it around because we don't have anyone in the farm knocking on the door for his job. Viciedo has been an extreme dissapointment and headed to become a 1B now.

Ugh...

oeo

03-15-2010, 09:09 PM

Just got home. Granted, it's only two spring games, you can't tell much, but thought I'd share some random impressions:

1. Retherford truly stood out. I see the Tribune had a story on him today. The ball jumps off his bat, and his approach at the plate was impressive. He reminds me of Dan Uggla. I knew nothing about him going in, and maybe he just had two lucky games, but he seemed to have legit MLB potential.

2. Sloppy defense, poor errors by Teahan, Nix and Lillbridge (although Lillibridge did make one spectacular play at short).

3. I thought Kenny Williams' son was going to play football, but he played on Friday - clearly an impressive athlete, very fast.

4. Torres was the only pitcher I recognized in both games. This was fairly disappointing considering the high profile Vegas games, especially when I heard Peavy pitched in Arizona. I know the Sox aren't out to please the fans who make a special trip, but factoring that in would have been nice. Really makes me think twice about wanting to support the team during the spring if they don't send their highest profile player to the highest profile game. I know that's not what spring training is supposed to be about, but in this case I think it's a legit argument for fans who paid near regular-season prices for seats. Maybe they want Ozzie and Coop to see the unknown arms. I don't think Pinella was there, and the Cubs were throwing MLB starters.

5. I'm on record as saying I think Teahan and Rios will drive me nuts all year. I'm just not excited about either being in the lineup, and Teahan proceeded to strand like 5 runners in scoring position with less than two outs over the course of the two games. He did have an RBI bloop single. Rios was in Arizona.

I won't bore you with more, I need to take some aspirin and go to sleep anyway!

Rios is tearing the cover off the ball (.316/.333/1.070). Not like it matters either way as there are still three weeks until Opening Day and on April 5th you start at .000. Judging an entire season off of a couple of Spring Training games is pretty funny.

LoveYourSuit

03-15-2010, 09:12 PM

Ugh...

Teahen

Sorry :rolleyes:

soltrain21

03-15-2010, 11:05 PM

Teahen

Sorry :rolleyes:

Correcting spelling and grammar is the new Brian Anderson.

pudge

03-16-2010, 02:12 AM

Correcting spelling and grammar is the new Brian Anderson.

I don't even know what that means, but it sounds funny.

pudge

03-16-2010, 02:22 AM

What makes you think the Las Vegas games are the special? They are coming near the beginning of Cactus League season when exhibition games are filled with players who won't sniff the majors this year. Fans probably made more out of the games than they should have.

Veteran players often don't make the long trips during the exhibition season. I don't know who played in the Las Vegas games or how any of them did -- I didn't even know the Sox went to the trouble to go to Las Vegas for the weekend, but I've been to a lot of spring games where half of at least one team wasn't even in the city.

Yes, it was a split squad situation, so about half the vets were in Vegas and half held back (except for the Sox no vet pitchers).

pudge

03-16-2010, 02:34 AM

Judging an entire season off of a couple of Spring Training games is pretty funny.

Thought I made it pretty clear at the outset I wasn't doing that.

doublem23

03-16-2010, 06:23 AM

Ah - which one is the football player? I thought it was Kenny Williams Jr, but apparently not.

Kyle Williams is the football player at ASU.

doublem23

03-16-2010, 06:25 AM

Thought I made it pretty clear at the outset I wasn't doing that.

Some people can't take even the slightest criticism of the Sox. Everybody is going to hit .300 with 30 HR, steal at least 30 bases, and we'll all live in a Gumdrop House on Lollipop Lane.

Danielgosox38

03-16-2010, 07:50 AM

Some people can't take even the slightest criticism of the Sox. Everybody is going to hit .300 with 30 HR, steal at least 30 bases, and we'll all live in a Gumdrop House on Lollipop Lane.

Yep. Dead on. Truth be told.

ewokpelts

03-16-2010, 01:57 PM

The sox should have sent more big league ready players to vegas. Cubs had close to thier projected roster out on this trip, while the sox had a AAA+ squad peppered with a few vets.

That said, it was a fun experience.

did notice quite a bit of sox love out in vegas.

havelj

03-16-2010, 02:00 PM

I had a great time for Saturday's game in Las Vegas. We ran into Paulie at the Wynn in the morning, said hi to him and talked about his dogs for a bit.

The crowd at the game was alive and fun. Nice place (bad hot dogs.)

Finally, my girlfriend and I were back at the Wynn after dinner and played some Rapid Roulette - and Ozzie was at the same game as us and we yelled over to him and said hi. He was with his wife, two of his boys and other family members. A funny moment was when he appeared to explain the way to bet with the video screen to an older family member of his. Ozzie seems to be on top of this technology thing!

oeo

03-16-2010, 02:01 PM

Some people can't take even the slightest criticism of the Sox. Everybody is going to hit .300 with 30 HR, steal at least 30 bases, and we'll all live in a Gumdrop House on Lollipop Lane.

That may have been how you felt in years past, but definitely not the way I feel. Once again, who you crappin'? The guy clearly based an opinion on Teahen on a couple of Spring Training games. Also had no idea what Rios was actually doing. I was the one with the unbiased reasoning. :scratch:

#1swisher

03-16-2010, 02:22 PM

Just got home. Granted, it's only two spring games, you can't tell much, but thought I'd share some random impressions:

1. Retherford truly stood out. I see the Tribune had a story on him today. The ball jumps off his bat, and his approach at the plate was impressive. He reminds me of Dan Uggla. I knew nothing about him going in, and maybe he just had two lucky games, but he seemed to have legit MLB potential.

2. Sloppy defense, poor errors by Teahan, Nix and Lillbridge (although Lillibridge did make one spectacular play at short).

3. I thought Kenny Williams' son was going to play football, but he played on Friday - clearly an impressive athlete, very fast.

4. Torres was the only pitcher I recognized in both games. This was fairly disappointing considering the high profile Vegas games, especially when I heard Peavy pitched in Arizona. I know the Sox aren't out to please the fans who make a special trip, but factoring that in would have been nice. Really makes me think twice about wanting to support the team during the spring if they don't send their highest profile player to the highest profile game. I know that's not what spring training is supposed to be about, but in this case I think it's a legit argument for fans who paid near regular-season prices for seats. Maybe they want Ozzie and Coop to see the unknown arms. I don't think Pinella was there, and the Cubs were throwing MLB starters.

5. I'm on record as saying I think Teahan and Rios will drive me nuts all year. I'm just not excited about either being in the lineup, and Teahan proceeded to strand like 5 runners in scoring position with less than two outs over the course of the two games. He did have an RBI bloop single. Rios was in Arizona.

I won't bore you with more, I need to take some aspirin and go to sleep anyway!

Thanks for posting your impressions, I enjoy reading what others have to say.

pudge

03-16-2010, 05:10 PM

That may have been how you felt in years past, but definitely not the way I feel. Once again, who you crappin'? The guy clearly based an opinion on Teahen on a couple of Spring Training games. Also had no idea what Rios was actually doing. I was the one with the unbiased reasoning. :scratch:

Interesting take on my comments. I only stated I have low expectations for Rios and Teahen - this is based on their careers, what I've seen from their approaches at the plate, their career stats, etc. And that's just my unprofessional opinion. I was stating with a bit of irony that Teahen proceeded to suck it up in front of my very eyes for two games. I don't think that means he's going to have a bad year, just like I don't think Rios is going to have a great year because he's hitting well so far. You decided to read into my comments that I was some idiot judging the 2010 results on two spring training games. Let me guess, you're the type of guy who always thinks he's the smartest guy in the room?

DumpJerry

03-16-2010, 06:17 PM

The sox should have sent more big league ready players to vegas.
Why? The purpose of Spring Training is for the club to evaluate what they have for several purposes:
1. Who goes on the 25 man roster.
2. Who is on the 40 man roster.
3. Who gets assigned somewhere in the organization.
4. Who is trade bait.

Winning spring training games or giving the fans a feeling of a regular season game is just not on the list.

pudge

03-16-2010, 11:50 PM

Why? The purpose of Spring Training is for the club to evaluate what they have for several purposes:
1. Who goes on the 25 man roster.
2. Who is on the 40 man roster.
3. Who gets assigned somewhere in the organization.
4. Who is trade bait.

Winning spring training games or giving the fans a feeling of a regular season game is just not on the list.

DumpJerry, I think you're assuming we expected a "regular-season" feel or expected them to be trying to win. I just think in this case it would have been nice to do something like showcase Peavy, because you are asking fans to pay near regular-season prices. Now you can argue it's my fault for having those expectations (and in truth I had no expectations about who would be there). I just think it reeks of how much pro sports teams take their fan bases for granted. They know the sheep will come to the games and buy the tickets, it would be nice to know they at least considered it instead of living in their bubble. (Duly noted Cub fans tend to be the sheep more than Sox fans.)

asindc

03-17-2010, 07:30 AM

DumpJerry, I think you're assuming we expected a "regular-season" feel or expected them to be trying to win. I just think in this case it would have been nice to do something like showcase Peavy, because you are asking fans to pay near regular-season prices. Now you can argue it's my fault for having those expectations (and in truth I had no expectations about who would be there). I just think it reeks of how much pro sports teams take their fan bases for granted. They know the sheep will come to the games and buy the tickets, it would be nice to know they at least considered it instead of living in their bubble. (Duly noted Cub fans tend to be the sheep more than Sox fans.)

I attended one of the Vegas games last year on my birthday. I really had no expectations other than to see Konerko there (he shares the same birthday with me, but did not play in the game I attended). I think the expected appeal is Vegas, of course, and getting a taste of ST while there. As for the ticket prices, I agree that they are exhorbitant, but that can be blamed as much on the Vegas AAA affiliate as it can be on the Sox and Cubs. After all, they are charging what the market will bear. I didn't like it last year, but once I paid I decided to just go with it and have a good time, which I did.

skobabe8

03-17-2010, 08:19 AM

DumpJerry, I think you're assuming we expected a "regular-season" feel or expected them to be trying to win. I just think in this case it would have been nice to do something like showcase Peavy, because you are asking fans to pay near regular-season prices. Now you can argue it's my fault for having those expectations (and in truth I had no expectations about who would be there). I just think it reeks of how much pro sports teams take their fan bases for granted. They know the sheep will come to the games and buy the tickets, it would be nice to know they at least considered it instead of living in their bubble. (Duly noted Cub fans tend to be the sheep more than Sox fans.)

Who sets the ticket prices for games in LV?

I am spending a week in AZ and I have no expectations of who I am going to get to see. Whoever the organization wants to run out their is up to them. I'm going to 30+ games this year anyway, so it doesnt matter to me if I see the 'superstars' or not in the spring.

thedudeabides

03-17-2010, 08:20 AM

DumpJerry, I think you're assuming we expected a "regular-season" feel or expected them to be trying to win. I just think in this case it would have been nice to do something like showcase Peavy, because you are asking fans to pay near regular-season prices. Now you can argue it's my fault for having those expectations (and in truth I had no expectations about who would be there). I just think it reeks of how much pro sports teams take their fan bases for granted. They know the sheep will come to the games and buy the tickets, it would be nice to know they at least considered it instead of living in their bubble. (Duly noted Cub fans tend to be the sheep more than Sox fans.)

Pudge,

As far as Peavy goes, his woodlock charity concert was in Arizona the Thursday night before they played in Vegas, and then his scheduled day to pitch was Friday. They aren't going to mess with his schedule so he could go to vegas. I don't think anybody but Ozzie(and he just wants to gamble) wants to take an extra flight during spring training, and the veterans are ususally given the option. Lou Piniella didn't even go. I feel for you after making the trip, but I guess that's just the nature of spring games.

ewokpelts

03-17-2010, 08:53 AM

Why? The purpose of Spring Training is for the club to evaluate what they have for several purposes:
1. Who goes on the 25 man roster.
2. Who is on the 40 man roster.
3. Who gets assigned somewhere in the organization.
4. Who is trade bait.

Winning spring training games or giving the fans a feeling of a regular season game is just not on the list.Considering that this is a special event of sorts, I think a squad that could win a game would have been nice. For last year's games, Ozzie took more guys off his 25 man roster, while Lou took mostly kids for the cubs. Sox swept the two game set.
This year, Ozzie didnt even bring an mlb ready pitcher. Cubs had Ryan Dempster pitch on saturday.

If the cubs and sox want thier fans to spend money on plane tickets, hotelrooms, AND tickets to a game with a lowest face value of $35, they should field a squad that will make the games competitive.

Yes it's spring training, but a little effort would have been nice.

ewokpelts

03-17-2010, 08:54 AM

Who sets the ticket prices for games in LV?

I am spending a week in AZ and I have no expectations of who I am going to get to see. Whoever the organization wants to run out their is up to them. I'm going to 30+ games this year anyway, so it doesnt matter to me if I see the 'superstars' or not in the spring. the las vegas 51s, with a little help from the las vegas convention group.

RedHeadPaleHoser

03-17-2010, 09:07 AM

Winning spring training games or giving the fans a feeling of a regular season game is just not on the list.

This.

I've been watching the MLB network because they're talking about ALL the clubs (what a concept in sports media, I know), and Mitch Williams/Harold Reynolds have said this as least 5x. ST is about analying bubble players for spots in your organization, who you might be able to trade, and what shape some of your veterans are from offseason work.

skobabe8

03-17-2010, 11:01 AM

the las vegas 51s, with a little help from the las vegas convention group.

Well if the Sox have no say in setting ticket prices, why should they feel obligated to play more MLB starters to justify them?

:scratch:

pudge

03-17-2010, 06:29 PM

Well if the Sox have no say in setting ticket prices, why should they feel obligated to play more MLB starters to justify them?

:scratch:

Because you better believe they're getting a nice chunk of the money. But again, I don't want to make a huge deal of it, I had a good time, but simply wouldn't choose to pay those prices again.

skobabe8

03-17-2010, 11:15 PM

Because you better believe they're getting a nice chunk of the money. But again, I don't want to make a huge deal of it, I had a good time, but simply wouldn't choose to pay those prices again.

Again, I just don't see why they need to play guys they would rather not play because they are getting a 'nice chunk' of the gate.

I'd also like to know how 'nice' the 'chunk' is.

I just don't think the fans have much to complain about when they travel to see exhibition games. You have to know what to expect: teams don't try as hard to win, starters don't play, and games end in ties. Oh well. Just enjoy the experience.

jabrch

03-17-2010, 11:43 PM

I just don't think the fans have much to complain about

Fans always find something to complain about...even if they had every reason to expect it - like in this case.

pudge

03-18-2010, 01:24 AM

Again, I just don't see why they need to play guys they would rather not play because they are getting a 'nice chunk' of the gate.

I'd also like to know how 'nice' the 'chunk' is.

I just don't think the fans have much to complain about when they travel to see exhibition games. You have to know what to expect: teams don't try as hard to win, starters don't play, and games end in ties. Oh well. Just enjoy the experience.

Well again, Peavy was pitching in Arizona the same night, I'm not asking to see someone who they wouldn't have played. Someone mentioned Peavy had an event in Arizona, so fine, that's cool. I think the sentiment of my statement is getting misunderstood. If it was at all reasonable, I still think it would have been a nice gesture to send him there, and if not him maybe one or two more pros - a perfect opportunity to feed the festive atmosphere of those games and appease fans who did indeed pay more than usual (keep in mind not all fans live in Chicago so maybe this is a rare chance to see a few guys). I enjoyed it, but I just wouldn't do it again, as a consumer I can vote with my wallet, that's all I'm saying. I would just go to Arizona for baseball, and Vegas for the NCAA tourney. Maybe the opinion is that the venue and proximity to Vegas is really what you're paying for, and that's fine.

ewokpelts

03-18-2010, 08:29 AM

Like i said before, if they want fans to make the trek to vegas, maybe they should field more than just a couple of 2010 starters.

The 2009 vegas games were heavy on 25man roster players, while 2010 had Ken Williams...JR.